Aliko Dangote Retains his Position as Number 1 Africa's Richest Person on Forbes Africa’s Rich List.

Aliko Dangote who is the President of the Dangote Group, has retained his position as Africa’s richest person and was listed as the 51st richest person in the world in the Forbes 2016 World’s Billionaires list released this week.

Dangote’s net worth, according to the magazine, has risen to $15.4bn from $14.7bn in 2015. He was ranked 67th in the 2015 list.

The 2016 list, which contains 1,810 billionaires in dollars, also has four other Nigerians apart from Dangote namely Chairman of Globacom, Dr. Mike Adenuga; Chairman of Forte Oil, Mr. Femi Otedola; Founder and Executive Chairman, Famfa Oil Limited, Mrs. Folorunsho Alakija; and Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, BUA Group, Abdulsamad Rabiu.

Adenuga, with a net worth at $10bn was ranked 103rd on the global list; while Otedola, with a net worth of $1.8bn, was ranked 1,011th.

Alakija, whp was estimated to be worth $1.6bn, came in the 1,121st position, while Rabiu was ranked the 1,577th billionaire in the world, with a net worth of $1.1bn.

Despite the economic crisis in Nigeria, the five billionaires are said to have increased their net fortunes by $7bn (N1.4tn). They had a combined net worth of $29.9bn this year, down from $22.9bn the year before.

In the Forbes 2015 World’s Billionaires list, the fortunes of Dangote, Adenuga and Alakija were put at $14.7bn, $4.2bn and $2bn, respectively, while Otedola and Rabiu had a net worth of $1bn each.

Bill Gates also remained the richest person in the world with a net worth of $75bn, despite being $4.2bn poorer than a year ago.

He has been No. 1 one for three years in a row and topped the list 17 out of 22 years. In the 30 years Forbes has tracked global wealth, only five people have held the title of the richest person on planet; three of those still rank among the four richest in the world, including Warren Buffett and Carlos Slim.

Holding steady is Buffett at No. 3. Zara’s Amancio Ortega moves up to No. 2 for the first time, displacing Mexico’s Carlos Slim, who slips to No. 4. Slim’s fortune fell by $27.1bn to $50bn in the past year, as shares of his telecom business, América Móvil, tumbled.

Source: The Will